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Five Judging Tips
that Judges and Registrars Taught Me

1. When judging, decide if each rabbit is good, fair, or poor before you compare it to the others.  Perhaps if you are judging a class of four in a judging contest, pick your best and your worst, and then figure out the middle two.  In a large class, divide it mentally into thirds.  Remember that judging is by comparison-- not by tallying up points.

2. Blurring your eyes while looking at a harlequin can help make the bars and bands stand out.

3. Make it a habit to blow into the coat on every rabbit, also to check every toenail and under every front leg.  You see a lot of interesting things that way!

4. A common indicator of spots in the eye is a bunny that squints.

5. The ideal rex fur has a little bit of drag to it as you stroke it from back to front.  This is caused by flat tops to the hair ends.  Slick coats are caused by tips that taper, providing less resistance.

Coming next time: Should you buy or build your cages?

One of my favorite things to do with bunnies is take the babies out in the yard for a photo shoot...

"Hey let's go play explorers!"

"I wanna be Cwistapher Columbus!"

"Does you know where we're going?"

"I dunno, but-- this looks interesting!"

"Snack Break!"

"I'm tired of exploring.  Let's go play hokie-pokie now!"

"Put your right foot in, take your right foot out..."

"Put your left foot in and shake it all about..."

"You do the hokie-pokie and you turn yourself around..."

"That's what it's all about!  G'bye!!!"


Coming next time: free sample pages from our newest title, "Cavy-Savvy 2-in-1!"

“Dear Pearl” : Humor for Rabbit Breeders

Being a series of letters from imaginary breeder Britanny Petite to her dear friend, Pearl Marten.

[Disclaimer: All characters mentioned in these “letters” are fictional (at least, most of them! ) as well as all clubs (except ARBA/ACBA), shows, locations, and/or incidents.  These letters are intended get some fun out of the hobby of rabbit breeding and showing.  However, please be aware that these “letters” do NOT reflect usual or recommended practices of rabbit show breeders.  It’s more often quite the opposite…]

“Dear Pearl,

How are things with you and your rabbitry?  I’m doing fine: eating well and getting plenty of sleep.  Please don’t think me lazy; I’m saving up for next week when I have 16 does due and only 11 nestboxes bought.  Next year, remind me that breeding rabbits in the winter is like trying to beat Betty Chu: it’s a lose-lose proposition.  If I don’t run a heater I’m up 24/7 to catch the babies, and if I do, I’m up 24/7 for fear of fire. 

I did get a litter of three on Christmas Eve and named them Ho, Ho, and Ho.  I like to do that with juniors.  I can post “Ho” for sale on my website a month before nationals and I get a little extra time to decide which one that is.  For now though, they’re the laziest little black bundles I’ve ever seen.  Each opened one eye a full three days ahead of the other eye, and the only time I’ve seen one out of the box yet is when Ho dared Ho to stick its tongue to the steel J-feeder.  (By the way, please pardon my use of the pronoun “its”.  I’m not one of those talented beings that can squint just right and sex kits at birth.)

I hope you can make it to our PORC show next month.  PORC (Polish Only Rabbit Club) is a really cool group of breeders that focuses on “the other white variety,” that is, BEW’s.

Well, I look forward to hearing from you, but there’s no rush.  Just get back to me before the Lionheads get accepted.

Love,
Britanny

Coming Next time: "The Coolness of Himalayan"

Note: this article got quite long, so I'm breaking it into two parts!

Ten Tips to become an ARBA Licensed Registrar, Part I

Prestige.  Income.  Becoming a judge:  All of these are reasons why breeders may pursue a rabbit or cavy registrar’s license.  But the number one reason to consider becoming a registrar, and the only guaranteed benefit, is the in-depth learning experience you’ll gain in the process of licensing.  Even if you never plan to be a judge, the skills you will gain in studying the Standard and working under professionals will help you develop your herd of rabbits to its top potential.  

(Readers that aren’t sure what a licensed registrar is, or are unfamiliar with how to become one, or want to know what it means to register a rabbit, can scroll down to the “read more” break at the end of this page for a brief explanation.  Detailed guidelines are also available in the ARBA yearbook.)

Ten Preparation and Study Tips for ARBA Registrar Applicants

1) Don’t fill out the application until you have the time to pursue a license.  It’s not uncommon for breeders to request the application for a registrar’s license from the ARBA months before they actually send in the form.  While there’s nothing wrong with that, it does become dangerous when you fill out the application and get your signatures long before you actually apply.  A certain number of current adult ARBA members must endorse your application.  If you get the signatures months before you send in your application, some of their memberships may have lapsed.  It’s also a good idea to have a few extra people sign on the back of your form in case some of them had let their membership expire.  It’s usually pretty easy to get the required signatures at a show.

2) Study before you apply!  Once you send in your application to the ARBA and it’s approved, you have just two years to complete the licensing process.  While this seems like a long time, we have busy lives and it goes fast!  So, do not apply for a license until you have done your studying and are ready to test.  If you don’t get at least 70% on both the written and oral exams, you have to wait six months to retest.

3) Go to your examining judge’s home.  Your exams will be administered by an ARBA licensed judge.  You have a chance to request which judge gives you the test, and you’ll usually get the one you ask for.  Pick a judge that lives near enough to you that you can go to their home to test.  A judge will have more time to spend with you at their home on a free weekend than if they met you before a show.  You may get a chance to see their rabbitry and put your hands on some of their animals.  Frankly, you may get a much better education from some of the lesser known judges at their home than from a “top ten” judge that has to squeeze you into their schedule at a show.  Of course, you should contact the judge and get their agreement before you send in your application.

4) Make sure you have a current Standard of Perfection.  The new SOP goes into effect this year!  Make sure you get your copy because there were several changes.  Also, pay attention to which new breeds or varieties pass their third presentation after the SOP was printed.  Their standards are printed in Domestic Rabbits upon becoming official.  When you actually apply for a registrar’s license, the ARBA will send you the standards for the breeds and varieties that passed since the last printing.

5) Learn how to clamp tattoo rabbits.  As you may know, all rabbits have the registration insignia ®  tattooed in their right ear at time of registration.  (The registration number may be tattooed instead, but the ® symbol is more common.)  When you receive your registrar’s license, you can get this symbol from the ARBA that fits into a tattoo clamp.  Even if you intend to use an electric tattoo pen on the bunnies you register, your examining judge will probably have you demonstrate your ability to tattoo bunnies with a clamp. 

...That's all for now!  Tips 6 through 10 coming soon!
 

Greetings Rabbit Breeders!

Happy New Year from Rabbit Smarties Publications!  We're determined to make 2011 a fantastic year for our business, which means you can count on our help to make it a great year for your rabbitry as well.  We plan to release several new resources for breeders this month, starting with this blog!  We're excited about this blog that will offer many articles of interest to rabbit breeders.  Future posts may feature:

 - Articles on many aspects of rabbit keeping and competition
-Equipment ratings and reviews
- Creative tips for 4-H leaders
- Cute bunny pictures and captions
- Interviews with judges or leading breeders
-Special offers for Rabbit Smarties products
-And much more! 

One catagory of blog post that I am most looking forward to is a comedy column:  Correspondence between imaginary breeders Brittany Petite and Pearl Marten that every breeder can relate to!

To get things rolling we're going to start with a couple of posts a week, so check back soon!

I'm currently overhauling my AnimalSmarties.com and RabbitSmarties.com websites, so we're hosted here at www.RabbitSmarties.Weebly.com for the time being.  Soon our new sites at our own domains should be on the air.

Happy New Year!  Check back later this week for 10 Tips for Preparing for a Registar's License!

--Ellyn,
Rabbit Smarties